help im really dumb i think!!! compound issue..
 

Had a small scratch on my gun metal '14 brz, tried to use rubbing compound to get it out (red turtle wax brand). Now there is a dull circle where i did it. anyone know what i can do to try and fix this? Wax hides it, but im looking to not have to always bandaid it with wax..

Ahh the joys of a dark car.

You need a real polish job. Doing it by hand will never look good (in my experience).

After rubbing compound you are supposed to use polishing compund, then the wax.

If you wanna go all pro on it, there are numerous stages of compunds to go through gradually.
The basic auto parts or Ace hardware will only have one of each Rubbing & Polishing.
The professional auto body places will have a lot more stages you can work through.

Pick up some Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. It's a pretty good compound/polish all in one that will get you to where you need to be to not have a dull finish that more aggresive compounds will leave you with.

This

Rubbing compound is not for newbz.

I second Meguiars Ultimate for next time. It's a great diminishing polish.

Also, don't worry - you didn't do any irreversible damage.

Hello,

What compound did you end up using? Upload a picture of the spot if you can.

Disclaimer: Please understand this is only my advice and I am merely a detailing enthusiast not a professional and I can not be help liable for any damages.

What happened in my opinion is that the compound was quite aggressive in the sense of abrasive's in the product and obviously that dulled the clear coat. Must have been an aggressive compound as I have used 3M compound in the past and never had any issues.

So to fix it, you will need to polish out the damage. A dual action polisher is nice for this job, however understand if you don't want to run out and spend 125 dollars. What you need is a swirl removal style polish and a finishing polish. You may need a special compound to remove the damage, although not like the one you used, which is more used in paint shops, but one that is made for the detailing industry with special abrasives to level damaged clear coats. I say this assuming you did not "eat" through the clear coat, as I am only going but what you are providing.

So you have two options: take it to a pro OR if you want to go at it by hand here is where I would personally start.

Anyway here is some advice go to autogeek and purchase (1) orange ccs "cutting" hand foam applicator and (1) white "polishing" foam applicator.

http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-foam-hand-applicators.html

then also pick up a sample of BOTH these two products:

Swirl remover: http://www.autogeek.net/pin-swirl-remover-sample.html

Polish: http://www.autogeek.net/pin-finishin...sh-sample.html

Work them in a cross hatch pattern over the damage area several times starting with the swirl remover then the finishing polish, then protect with a wax/sealant. Keep in mind depending how bad the damage this is only a starting point but this should resolve the issue. Feel free to ask any other questions. Let us know how it works out.

^This^

And you're not dumb, just a beginner (i presume?). Practice and watch detailing videos. What is dumb is when people try to remove dried bird shit with their fingernails or slapping armor all over all the plastics.

It's this stuff, pretty serious business:

https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b9...7f582f5243.jpg

yess this :( lol im off tommorow i will try the polishing method i have meguires brand for polishing compound, hopefully that will help. I just never had a car with really nice paint before. never had a problem compounding stuff before but i also never used the red kind..

the mark is only the size of a quarter. its right under my mirror. and only i notice it. I cant post pictures cause i only have internet at work :/

If you use the ultimate compound, it should get it out. It starts out as an aggressive polish but as it breaks down becomes a fine polish.

Your using a compound that is to aggressive! essentially you have caused more damage then helping :(

What did you use to rub the compound into the paint with? very important question!

we can send you a sample bottle of our Refresh 3 to fix this for you.

please pm us :)